Women of a certain age know the name of this hair legend well: Frédéric Fekkai. If you were born around the same time as Dua Lipa, get ready to hear the backstory behind the dashing Frenchman and former model who was among the first to charge hundreds of dollars for a hair cut in Manhattan. In his heyday, Frédéric was called upon by Hollywood royalty like Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey and Jodie Foster. At one Academy Awards show, he worked on three nominees in one night!

His eponymous haircare brand was also among the original hairstylist-backed brands, and it would become coveted for its anti-grunge, Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream, bringing that salon suave to top shelves across the continent. (Carlene even recalls one swanky press trip when she was helicoptered in to Frédéric’s estate in Upstate New York!) But after selling his self-titled haircare business in 2008, the brand lost its cool factor. In today’s episode, Frédéric explains why he recently bought back his own brand—and details his plans for re-inventing the House of Fekkai to compete with the Ouai’s and Brigeo’s of this world.

Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Frédéric never retired for long though. Meet the clean beauty brand born from his roots in the South of France, called Bastide. What began as a small assortment of artisanal, luxe-y perfumes, hand washes and body creams sold at high end department stores Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew, the highly giftable brand is ready to take on skincare this fall. Frédéric talks to us about shifting his focus from hair to face; he also explains the right* way to blow-dry your hair; and he shares some knee-slapping stories about his stylish travels working with the likes of Martha Steward (pre & post-penitentiary) along the way.

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